Ross optimistic US-China trade deal by Nov

Bloomberg

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at a regional summit in Bangkok, a person familiar with the discussion said.
The meeting came hours after Ross told a morning business forum that the US was “very far along” with “Phase One” of a trade deal with China. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that a trade agreement, if one is completed, would be signed somewhere in the US.
In an interview, Ross expressed optimism the US would conclude an initial agreement with China in November before working on additional phases.
He also said licenses would be coming “very shortly” for US firms to sell components to China’s Huawei Technologies.
China’s offshore strengthened as much as 0.27% to 7.0228 per dollar, at one point breaking through its 100-day moving average for the first time since May.
Ross called the Phase One agreement “particularly complicated” and said the US was “making sure that each side has a very correct and clear, detailed understanding of what each side has agreed to.”
Iowa, Alaska, Hawaii and locations in China were all possible places for Trump and President Xi Jinping to sign the deal after the cancellation of this month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile.
“We’re in good shape, we’re making good progress, and there’s no natural reason why it couldn’t be,” Ross said. “But whether it will slip a little bit, who knows. It’s always possible.”

Downgraded Delegation
Ross and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien are leading a downgraded American delegation to meetings hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Thailand. Ross said that the Trump administration remained “fully committed” to the Indo-Pacific region, amid questions over US strategy fuelled by the president’s absence.
Asian leaders were separately expected to announce a breakthrough on another trade pact, the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, at the end of the meetings. It remained uncertain whether the pact would include India, which jeopardised it with last-minute requests.
Ross in the interview downplayed the significance of RCEP, which would lower tariffs in an area that represents roughly a third of the global economy, and defended US engagement in Asia after Trump skipped the Asean meetings for a second straight year.
Contentious issues remain and the terms aren’t yet known, but RCEP would at least partly fill a trade gap left by Trump’s 2017 withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Southeast Asia collectively has the world’s fifth largest economy and has struggled to wade through the economic fallout of US-China trade tensions.

‘Constructive’ Call
Top American and Chinese negotiators both spoke on the phone and described the talks as “constructive” as they look to lower tensions in a trade war that has roiled global growth.
After the call, Chinese state media reiterated the nation’s core demands, including the removal of all punitive tariffs.
The deal would see China increase purchases of US agriculture products, keep its currency stable and open financial services markets to American firms. In return, Beijing wants the US to do away with new import taxes due to take effect December 15 on goods including smart-phones.
Ross remained non-committal on whether the Trump administration would suspend the December tariff hike. He also said further phases of the deal would depend on things involving legislation on the part of China and an enforcement mechanism.
Chinese officials have cast doubts about reaching a comprehensive long-term trade deal even as the two sides close in on the phase one agreement, the Bloomberg reported.
China has stated for months that a final deal must include the removal of all punitive tariffs, and has balked at reforms in areas such as state-run enterprises that could jeopardize the Communist Party’s grip on power.
Trump has placed dozens of Chinese firms on the Commerce Department’s “entity list,” hampering their ability to purchase American software and components.
It first targeted Huawei in May for national security reasons, and last month added 28 more companies including artificial intelligence giants SenseTime Group Ltd, Megvii Technology Ltd and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology.
Entities on the list are prohibited from doing business with American companies without being granted a US government license, although some blacklist, and the companies have denied wrongdoing.

Asean leaders snub US meet after Trump skips summit
Bloomberg

Most Southeast Asian leaders skipped a summit with US representatives after President Donald Trump decided to avoid the annual meetings for a second straight year.
Leaders from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam were the only ones to show up from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the summit with National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, who was leading the US delegation. It was the lowest level representation for the US at the meetings since Barack Obama upgraded ties with Asean in 2011.
In remarks at the summit, O’Brien said the US must defend its relationship with Asean at all costs. He read aloud a letter from Trump inviting regional leaders to join him in the US for a special summit.
The three leaders who attended included Prayuth Chan-Ocha of Thailand, the current chair of Asean; Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos, the coordinator between the bloc and the US; and Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, which will host the Asean meetings in 2020. Video from the event showed seven foreign ministers sitting at a table usually reserved for PMs.